Keep up the good fight against Garlic Mustard. It spreads so quickly and overwhelms everything in its path. Did you know that the West Virginia White Buterfly mistakenly lays its eggs on GM mistaking it for the host plant. The eggs never develop into butterflies. GM germinates in Sept/Oct. Learn to recognize the seedlings and they can be zapped with herbicide at that time. If you are confident of the location you can even apply corn-based pre-emergent herbicide before they germinate which will have minimal effect of other plants. See link to my native plant society's control measures. Sam Here is a link that might be useful: MNPS Invasives Control

So what about DIY hickory? Possible? Insane? Hickory is a hard wood, yes. But speaking as someone who DIY'd a bloodwood floor (bloodwood is about 50% harder than hickory), that wouldn't scare me. :) Your husband may want (or need) to pre-drill before nailing floor cleats into the material, to prevent the wood from splitting. Depending on the amount of area, that may or may not be a deal killer for him. In my case, it was only around 250 square feet, so I didn't find hugely annoying. If you're going to install unfinished planks and finish them in place, he'll find he needs to spend a bit more time sanding a very hard wood like this. No big deal. (However: A quick google suggests that hickory tends to "fuzz" when sanding, so I see some sites recommending pre-finished hickory flooring.) It's worth mentioning that hickory isn't particularly dimensionally stable as compared to oak. I'm thinking of keeping the house humidity relatively under control to prevent it from moving around too much (gaps between boards, or in worst case warping/cupping of boards) after it's installed. But google also shows recommendations that you'd best buy from a dealer who properly dried it, or it may warp badly as it dries down to your house's humidity levels. It's a pretty wood, IMHO. And durable. I like to use it to make utility shelving and cabinetry because it's cheap here, tough, and looks nice. Frankly, any hardwood worth using as flooring is not exactly going to be trivial to install, but it's a DIY project most us can tackle with some patience and care. I'd never done a floor before doing the bloodwood floor, though I am fairly handy generally, and do some amateur woodworking. All towards saying that if you like the look of hickory, I see no reason not to use it! --Steve

DON'T be scared. This is a bit like when you type a company name into google with the word "s*u*c*k*s" in - you will always hear horror stories (ok some companies ARE worse than others) but never the good stories. That's because, plain and simple, most people don't feel the need to vent/share when things are going well, whilst their good stories and advice are appreciated by those who are going through tough times, the former are, quite rightly, enjoying the good times, which we all should. I don't think "scared" is the right term at all. That assumes things will be bad, and if you assume the worse, you will generally get it. What is being discussed in this forum is, for the most part, 100% about attitude. Think about it, for the most part, the difference between harmony and estrangement is, again for the most part, due to the attitudes of the participants - so to an extent we/the people are dealing with have choices. We don't always see that, though. Cutting through the fog, taking the step back and looking objectively at ourselves and others should be simple yet is the hardest thing we will ever do. That's why I say pretty much everyone can benefit from some sort of counselling or therapy. Psychiatrists see Psychiatrists, you know. Rather than saying 'be scared' with all its self-fulfilling negativity, I would say "it's a big step and you SHOULD think hard about it." I am a great believer in following your gut instinct, and pretty much 100% of the time, it's proven right, and when I haven't, I was wrong. Two people in love ought to be able to adjust to the other's kids, and they to them. It's not always that easy but it can be rewarding too. Why don't you talk to your BF about your worries, and perhaps go to some joint (or singular) therapy sessions? You can probably read a lot of signs now - how is your BF with his child, and what sort of relationship do they have with the birth mother? How is he with his own family? Things have a way of repeating themselves, but we can also break that pattern if we choose. Mom2emall has made some good points. Make sure you both agree on the main points, and study the relationship he has with his child. That's not to say that things can't improve if they have to, but backing each other up, whilst respecting each other's differences and opinions is important too. Assuming the birth mother is involved, you will *not* replace her, nor should you try. You will at times have to bite your tongue and step back, but having said that, if you are involved in caring for a child and having them live with you, you should be treated with courtesy. I agree that trust and respect are to be EARNED but I believe everyone should be polite to each other. I learned a lot of this from my first marriage, where I was not treated with either, but was kind of a whipping boy whose place as a father was not given much dignity. Of course I made many mistakes and assume my share of the blame, but the rule of 1) politeness 2) united front as couple/parents 3) respect did not apply. When my now-wife met my daughter (I have two, one has accepted/has a relationship with us, which is now quite good, the other does not) the daughter vacillated between liking my wife, who is a lovely person and very likeable, and I guess out of guilt/loyalty to her mum, and told my wife "you aren't/won't be my mother" to which my wife replied "that's fine, you have a mother but I hope you and I can be friends" which is what they indeed are. Interestingly, my youngest who doesn't talk to me, asked her sister to convey a message to my wife that she has nothing against her, her issue is with me. I thought that was interesting but at least does have a positive aspect to it. With the wisdom of a few years my daughter sees me in a different and better light, and sometimes confides in me when things with her mum are a bit rough, but I am careful not to be critical, but supportive. You don't want to buy into that game, even if the child is slinging off at the other parent - be understanding. That being said, the differences between me now, me when I was married to her mother, and my now-wife are pretty apparent so she can draw her own conclusions. I have an adult step-son myself. I wish we had met when he was much younger, we may have developed a closer relationship, but as adults it's always different. He lived with us for a couple of years which was stressful because I didn't like the way he spoke to/treated his mother and he pretty much ignored our requests for things which were reasonable (like, clean up after yourself) and he in many ways reverted back to being a spoiled kid. I could understand it was awkward for him too, like I say our relationship is ok, but there are a few things I'd like him to work on. If my wife does have a fault, it is that she lets him run roughshod over her, and won't hear others speak their minds on it. Like I said, though, this did improve somewhat. A relationship with a younger child should in time become easier, remember you're the adult, take the high road and set a good example. Always be cordial to the ex and live your life faultlessly (as much as possible) and if the other person is being childish, be twice the adult for both of you. If the father doesn't back you up, discuss this with him privately and calmly. So, trust your feelings and remember there are many many happy endings, like I said, people don't write about them as much! There can also be a lot of pain and baggage in what people in our/this situation carry around so it's important to see all these comments in perspective.

12 hours to install that? Why didn’t you hired some skill? SPAMMER.